en/Voice: new guidelines for Voice=Pass (#290)

UniversalDependencies · Oct 29, 2023 · 07368a3 · 07368a3
1 parent 5200392
commit 07368a3
Showing 1 changed file with 22 additions and 2 deletions.
diff --git a/_en/feat/Voice.md b/_en/feat/Voice.md
@@ -5,14 +5,34 @@ shortdef: 'voice'
 udver: '2'
 ---
 
-In English, `Voice` is a feature of some [verbs](en-pos/VERB). It is only used to distinguish past participles from passive verbs which both have the PTB tag `VBN`.
+In English, `Voice=Pass` applies to verbal past participles acting as predicate of a clause to indicate that they reflect passive voice as opposed to the active voice perfect.
+
+The `Voice` feature is not used to explicitly mark active voice.
+
+It is expected that a fuller account of voice in English belongs at the clause level rather than the morphological level (but no standard for clause-level features exists yet).
 
 ### <a name="Pass">`Pass`</a>: passive
 
-All verbs with the PTB tag `VBN` that have a [passive auxiliary](en-dep/auxpass) have this feature.
+Verbal past participle acting as predicate of a clause in the passive voice (as opposed to the active voice perfect).
+
+To break this down:
+- Only past participles (PTB tag of `VBN`) tagged as [VERB]() are candidates for this feature. <!-- or exceptionally, [AUX]() promoted to the predicate of the clause. [but except for "been", these are not VBN] -->
+- A word attaching as [aux](), [aux:pass](), or [cop]() is not eligible. Words attaching in other functions (whether explicitly clausal in the deprel, e.g. [ccomp](), [xcomp](), [advcl](), [acl](), or not, e.g. [amod]()) are eligible.
+- If the clause has a non-outer subject, it will be of the passive variety: [nsubj:pass]() or [csubj:pass](). Only `Voice=Pass` verbs may have passive subject dependents.
+- In most `Voice=Pass` clauses, if the clause has any auxiliaries, one of them is a passive auxiliary: [aux:pass]().
+   * If the clause has an [aux]() auxiliary but no [aux:pass]() auxiliary, it is usually an active perfect clause.
+- An agent *by*-phrase in a passive clause attaches as [obl:agent](). Only `Voice=Pass` verbs may have [obl:agent]() dependents.
 
 #### Examples:
 
 * _Kennedy was <b>killed</b>._
 * _He got <b>shot</b>._
+* _It has been <b>eaten</b> by moths. Moths have eaten the painting._ (Note: _eaten_ in the second sentence is NOT an example of `Voice=Pass` because the past participle is triggered by the perfect, not passive.)
+* _paintings <b>eaten</b> by moths_
+* _a <b>ruined</b> sandwich_
+* _Beethoven (<b>born</b> 1770, died 1827)_
 <!-- Interlanguage links updated Út 9. května 2023, 20:03:51 CEST -->
+
+#### History:
+
+Before UD v2.13, this feature was restricted to past participles with an explicit [aux:pass]() dependent. For UD v2.13, this was broadened to include all past participles interpreted as passive.